


Second Chances

by kHz33



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23733922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kHz33/pseuds/kHz33
Summary: Amamiya Ren can't help but feel a serious sense of déja vu upon arriving in Tokyo, for his year of probation. Soon he finds out the truth, and he wants a better outcome than his previous adventure. Can he convince the second coming of the Detective Prince to abandon his murderous ways?
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> Akiren time travel fic, but it isn't really the main focus, and there will be no sexual scenes depicted, only implied. Much bigger focus on time travel and plot, which will deviate from the original game's plotline.

Amamiya Ren opened his eyes. The comfort of his mattress was gone, and something heavy was pulling on his right leg. His wrists were held by something cold and tight. Now sitting up, he looked around.

“ _What is happening? Why am I in a jail cell? And… why does this feel so familiar?”_ – thoughts such as these were swirling inside his head, and as if on instinct, he started to look for an escape route. But there was no way he could get out of here.

“So, you’ve come to. The you in reality is fast asleep. You are in the presence of our master, stand up straight!” – shouted a short, blonde haired girl, dressed in a blue warden uniform. Ren would have even said she was cute, if not for the baton she was holding in her hand, and her menacing glare. A picture-perfect copy of her with a different hairstyle was standing on the other side of his cell.

“Welcome. I am delighted to make your acquaintance.” – said a long-nosed man with an unusually long nose in a deep, growling tone, sitting at a desk.

“This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those bound by a “contract” may enter. Oh, how rude of me. My name is Igor.” – he continued, not leaving time for any questions Ren might have. And oh boy, did he have questions.

“I summoned you here to speak of important matters, that involve your own life as well.” – said Igor, holding a pause after he finished the sentence. Ren took this opportunity.

“Important matters?” – he asked, in a slightly trembling voice.

 _“Damn it, Ren, keep it together. You can do better than this.”_ – he cursed at himself in his mind.

“Still, this is a surprise… The state of this room reflects the state of thine own heart. To think a prison would appear as such… You truly are a “prisoner” of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you.” – continued Igor, not paying any mind to his question.

“Ruin?”

“I speak of the end to everything. However, there is a means to oppose such fate. You must be “rehabilitated”. Rehabilitated towards freedom. That is your only means to avoid ruin. …Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?”

“I’d rather avoid ruin.”

“Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation.”

The twin wardens turned towards Ren, simultaneously, as if they choreographed this.

“Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left is Justine. They serve as wardens here.”

“Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like.” – said Caroline.

“The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators. …That is, if you remain obedient.” – said Justine, in a tone much softer than Caroline’s.

“I shall explain the roles of these two in another occasion. Now then, it seems the night is waning… It is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually.” – said Igor, his menacing grin ever-so present on his face. Ren started to hear something ringing.

“ _Another occasion…? It seems like my mind is more creative than I thought. Or was it the curry I ate for dinner? It smelled kind of funny… But still, I can’t help but feel serious déjà vu right now about this entire situation. Something tells me deep inside that I shouldn’t trust Igor.” –_ thought Ren as he laid back down on the hard surface of the bed in his cell. He closed his eyes, and almost instantly, sleep overcame him.

\---

“Hey, wake up already. You’re going to be late on your first day…” – said a gruff voice, that very much sounded like he’d do anything else but look after a delinquent.

The voice belonged to Sakura Sojiro, Ren’s caretaker for his one-year probation in Tokyo.

After dressing up, and walking down the stairs, the smell of coffee and curry overcame him. His stomach growled, loudly.

“Good morning, Sojiro-san.”

“Drop the formalities, please. Come on, I will give you breakfast. Don’t get used to it though.” – said Sojiro, putting down a plate of curry and some coffee on the bar counter. Ren already tasted his curry, but it was even better cooked fresh. Paired with the amazing Blue Mountain coffee, he felt like he was in heaven.

“Thank you for the meal. How did you know I like Blue Mountain? They are my favourite type of beans, and the acidity is quite refreshing for the morning…” – he cut himself off, as he realized what he was talking about. He never even drank coffee before, but he was talking about it like some kind of expert.

“Oh, it seems like you know a thing or two about coffee, eh? Well, I can tell by looking at a person. Years of experience and all that. You should really get going now, though.” – said Sojiro, his interest in the boy growing.

_“I feel like a got a little closer to Sojiro…”_

Ren’s mind couldn’t help but go into overdrive on his way to the train station. So far, on his third day of living in Tokyo, the biggest city in the world, everything felt like a huge déjà vu for some reason. He was starting to get suspicious.

_“But that isn’t possible, is it? Igor seems to be powerful, but I’m sure nobody can mess with time. Maybe a higher deity…? Nah, why would they pick me of all people? I’m nothing special. I’m just your regular seventeen-year-old delinquent, who was framed and trialed for assault, because a drunk, and coincidentally influential person tripped on his own feet. Yep, that’s who I am. That bald fucker… Shido. Wait, why do I know his name? I’m starting to go crazy.”_

“Our current stop is Shibuya. Shibuya.”

He sure as hell didn’t remember entering the train, but here he was.

“ _Oh right, I need to transfer to the Ginza line… what a drag.”_

After wandering around for fifteen minutes, he finally got to the right station. He was pretty sure he missed three trains while he was walking around, and now he was sure he was going to be late.

“Great.” – wanted to think Ren, not realizing he said it out loud.

“What’s so great, if I may ask? You shouldn’t talk to yourself in public, or people will think you are crazy.” – said a sweet, overly polite voice next to him, that sent shivers down his spine for some reason.

Ren looked at the guy. Messy brown hair reaching down to his shoulders, a school uniform that made him look like he was some kind of nobility, and a briefcase with the letter A on it.

“Akechi Goro…” – blurted out Ren, staring at Akechi wide-eyed, breaking the awkward silence.

_“What the hell am I doing, I don’t even know this guy… But something feels familiar with him… A crow… betrayal… a ship… Shido… I can’t help but feel this is all connected. Perhaps it really is fate… and what did Igor say? That I’m a prisoner of fate… Why can’t I just live a normal life?”_

“Oh? How do you know my name? I’m not sure we have met before, but you do seem familiar…” – said the boy, his politeness already irritating Ren.

“I, uhm… I saw you on TV before. Yeah. Huge fan. You are a great detective.” – said Ren, while panicking. Memories suddenly started to flood his brain. People who he never met, but still seeming ever-so familiar popping up in his head. Akechi, in clothes that looked like they belonged on 18th century European royalty, and a red mask… Masks… Everybody has masks over their hearts. Persona. I am thou, thou art I… What could this all mean?

“Well… my sole interest is uncovering the truth.” – said Akechi, almost as if on cue. He didn’t know what was going on either. He seemed to be drawn to the messy-haired boy standing in front of him, who looked like he was having an existential crisis at… 7:44 AM, to be exact. Not that Akechi wasn’t going through something similar, but he thought he was better at hiding it. Memories that he never knew he had, started appearing. People who he never knew. Joker. The boy in front of him in a thief outfit. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Stealing hearts…

“I’m not sure I caught your name.” – said Akechi, looking at our hero, still confused.

“Amamiya Ren.” – said Ren, recomposing himself, putting on his usual poker face, hiding his inner turmoil from his face. Just like he usually does.

“You look like an interesting person, Amamiya-kun. Would you mind if we exchanged phone numbers? I’d like to speak with you about something… private.”

“Sure.”

“Thank you. Well, here is my train. I look forward to seeing you again.”

“Me too, Crow.” – he said, not realizing what words were coming out of his mouth.

Akechi stared at him, now suspicious. Both of them were thinking the same thing. They weren’t destined to meet yet. This could make things complicated…

\---

Ren looked at the time on his phone. 8:20 AM. He still had ten minutes to get to school. Now, if this stupid rain could finally let up, so he wouldn’t get his uniform completely soaked, that would be great. A mysterious app that has been appearing on his phone since Saturday was there again. He sighed and removed it. A hooded figure, wearing the Shujin uniform arrived beside Ren. The figure removed the hood, and a beautiful girl was revealed. Ren couldn’t help but stare.

“ _God, I hope we are in the same class. Such a marvelous sight…”_ – thought Joker, a drop of blood trickling down from his nose. The girl looked at him and smiled.

_“Not again…”_

Ren clutched his head in pain. More memories, that still didn’t make any sense. A skin-tight red latex suit. A whip. Panther. Just what is going on? Ren hoped for no more surprises for this day, because the influx of these memories quite literally gave him a headache. He didn’t seem to remember her name though.

“Are you okay?” – he heard the girl’s concerned voice ask him.

“Good morning. You want me to give you a ride to school? You’re gonna be late. – Ren heard a voice call out to the blonde girl next to him.

“Um, sure, thank you.” – said the girl. As she was getting in the car, Ren noticed a sad expression adorn her face.

“You better hurry up, or you’re gonna be late!” – said the guy, who Ren presumed to be a teacher at their school.

“Dammit… screw that pervy teacher.” – exclaimed a blonde-haired boy, wearing a Shujin uniform, just like Ren.

“Pervy teacher…?” – asked Ren. The boy turned towards him, with a tired expression on his face.

It happened again. This time, he welcomed the memories though, feeling excited at meeting the boy… Sakamoto Ryuji. It’s like he met his long-lost brother again, a feeling of familiarity washed over him. The pieces of this puzzle, that seemed unsolvable at first started to make more sense now. He had a mission…

“Don’t tell me you don’t know Kamoshida… you’re a second year, aren’t you? Just like me. The guy treats this school like it is his own castle or something.”

The curious app was once again on his phone. Ren now curious, tapped on the app, and a text that said “Ready for transfer” appeared. He tapped on it.

“I just transferred here.”

“Oh… you’re the guy with the criminal record- “ – the boy cut himself off, but the damage was done.

Ren glared at the boy.

“Look, I’m sorry, it’s just all I could read about this weekend, that our school accepted a delinquent. Well, if someone knows what it’s like to be an outcast, it’s me. So, don’t worry. I won’t judge you or anything like that.” – said Ryuji with his trademark smile on his face.

“By the way, the name is Sakamoto Ryuji.”

“Amamiya Ren.”

“Alright, Ren! Follow me, or we’re gonna be late for school!” – Ryuji didn’t notice it, but Ren did. Something was definitely off, like they weren’t in their own world anymore. He followed Ryuji, and his suspicions were confirmed. Where the school was supposed to be, stood a giant castle.

“Whoa… we didn’t… come the wrong way though… Yeah, this should be right.”

On the way in, Ren could read “Shujin High School”. They were in the right place. Stepping inside, it still wasn’t their school. They were in a huge, extravagant hall, perfect red carpet under their feet, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling…

“Where are we, Ryuji?”

“I’m sure we came the right way. Our school is supposed to be here. I don’t know what’s going on. Oh, someone is coming.” – said Ryuji, his initial confusion gone in an instant.

A figure wearing steel armor, wielding a spear and a shield approached them. Something was definitely off though. Ren just couldn’t quite put his finger on what was it.

“Hey, do you know what’s going on? That armor is so realistic though! Where did ya get it?” – asked Ryuji, not realizing the danger they were in.

“Intruders detected in the entrance hall. Requesting backup.”

“What are you doing?” – said Ryuji, fear appearing in his voice. He started backing up slowly. More things wearing the same armor appeared. They were surrounded. Ren’s world suddenly went black…

\---

The next few hours went on in a blur, mostly from the adrenalin. On the train back home, he quickly recollected the day’s happenings. He and Ryuji woke up in a jail cell after being knocked out by those guards. Then, Kamoshida appeared wearing nothing but a speedo over his underwear. He still got uneasy from remembering that… He threatened to execute both of them, starting with Ryuji. Ren then awakened to a power, called Persona, and Ren’s was apparently Arséne, a legendary gentleman thief, as they got to know from the weird talking monster-cat-thing named Morgana. They then managed to escape the castle, and they were only four hours late.

“ _On my first day, no less… fate really likes to fuck with me, doesn’t it?”_

Ren noticed fifteen unread messages from Ryuji, basically all of them going on and on about how cool Ren was and how scared he got, and that they should totally go back and find out more about Kamoshida’s distorted desires…

_“Is he retarded or something? There’s no way I’d go back there voluntarily, if I’m the only one who can fight there, I’m not putting both of our lives in danger. Why did Morgana have to disappear? He seems to know a lot about that place… wait, does it even have a gender? Whatever…”_

He quickly texted back that he’d think about it, but he thinks it would be dangerous without Morgana.

“Our current stop is Yongen-Jaya. Yongen-Jaya.”

Ren absentmindedly got off the train, and his legs automatically carried him to Leblanc. Stepping inside, he cursed at his own luck. Akechi was sitting at the bar counter, sipping a cup of coffee.

“Oh, Amamiya-kun, what a coincidence! Do you like coffee as well? My coworker recommended this place to me…”

“I live here.” – said Ren, cutting off Akechi’s monologue. He stormed up the stairs and sat down on his bed.

_“I guess Akechi still likes bullshitting, just like how I remember him… I should choose my words carefully.”_

After collecting himself and his thoughts, he went down to the café, and sat next to Akechi. Making sure Sojiro couldn’t hear them, Ren began.

“What are you doing here? You and I both know this is no coincidence.”

“I’m not sure I know what you are talking about-“

“Come on, Akechi, stop bullshitting. I saw the expression on your face in the morning, you weren’t as composed as you thought you were. I saw the same thing happening to you that happened to me. Are you getting weird memories back as well? Memories that you feel like never happened to you, yet feel so real? Just this morning I started speaking about coffee like I was an enthusiast, yet I rarely even drank coffee before coming here. And I feel some weird connection to you.”

“We shouldn’t talk about this here.” – said Akechi, panic apparent on his face. After finishing his coffee and leaving money on the counter, he picked up his briefcase.

“Come with me, Amamiya-kun.”

“Sojiro-san, I will be back shortly…” – said Ren, getting ready to leave.

“Where are we going, Akechi?”

“To my apartment.” – said the boy, assertively, his usual politeness gone from his voice. Ren knew he was right. Still, he felt quite alarmed. Akechi was a mass murderer, triggering mental shutdowns as he found out from his memories, so to say he was a bit scared of going up to his apartment was not false.

“Can I at least write my will before we go up there?”

“God, you still are the same snarky asshole.”

“It’s nice meeting you again too.” – grinned Ren.

Shaking his head, Akechi began to lead the way. His apartment wasn’t very far, actually it was still inside Yongen, a few streets after the cinema.

“I never would have thought you lived in such a quiet neighborhood, so close to me.”

“You still don’t know many things about me.”

Akechi’s apartment was number 303, third one to the right on the third floor. Stepping inside, Ren’s first thought was that it is quite normal. His second was that it barely felt like anybody was living here, it felt cold and barren.

“As you may see, I don’t spend too much time here. Would you like a drink?” – asked Akechi, more out of formality than goodwill.

“Tea, please.” – said Ren, mostly to annoy Akechi.

*sigh* “Alright. Make yourself comfortable in the living room.”

“ _I always knew he was loaded… this couch is so comfortable…”_ – thought Ren, drifting out of consciousness.

“If you don’t wake up right now, I could just kill you, you know.” – said Akechi, waking Ren up in an instant.

“Sorry. Your couch is too comfortable.” – said Ren, noticing his tea was in front of him already.

“Now, Amamiya-kun, I feel like it is safer to talk here. I’m sure you would agree.”

“Yeah… So, how many people are you still planning to kill? I’m sure you remember how that ended up last time. I don’t want you to suffer again, you know. I care for you, Akechi, I always did.”

“You know this is more complicated than this. What do you think Shido would think if I suddenly disobeyed him, refusing to kill any of his enemies? I’d be the next one dead. I’m not sure I could change this, yet.”

“Why couldn’t you? I’m sure he wouldn’t kill the star detective that everybody loves, and he doesn’t have anyone else that could trigger mental shutdowns. I still don’t remember how you did those, but I remember you regretted it before you died. I know you can change.”

“Perhaps, but Shido could just reveal that I was causing the mental shutdowns, he has evidence. I… I do want to change. I want to help you and your cause. And I don’t want to die again, either. This is a second chance for the both of us. Let’s not make any rash decisions. I’ll think about how I could escape Shido’s grasp. Now, I think we should share everything we remember.”

“Agreed. The thing I remember most vividly is Shido, and his ship that we needed to infiltrate somehow? But I don’t remember how we accessed the ship, or where it was. We eventually succeeded, and this ship was where you died too. …I think it was around November, or December. I knew we had eight people on my team, myself included, but I can only remember Ryuji, Morgana, and this blonde girl I knew I was close to, but I forgot her name. Oh, and Morgana could talk in real life too, and I was the one taking care of him. I also remember that we took down Kamoshida, the guy whose castle we gotten into today with Ryuji. Do you know how we ended up in there? Other than this, I don’t remember anything concrete.” – said Ren, as he finished recollecting his thoughts.

“Kamoshida… he was the first one whose heart got changed by you guys. I can’t believe you don’t remember the most important bits. You and your group were the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, who changed people’s hearts, by going into the Metaverse, where their Palace is, and stealing their treasure, which is the materialization of their distorted desires. You still following?

“Yeah, go on.”

“Between Kamoshida and Shido, you managed to take down five other targets. All big names too. The second was Madarame Ichiryusai, who exploited his art pupils and stole their works to gain fame and money. The third one was the leader of the mafia and scamming ring around Shibuya, Kaneshiro Junya. The fourth one I don’t remember, but I know you guys defeated a large hacker organization or something like that. The fifth one was Okumura Kunikazu, the executive of the food chain Big Bang Burger, who exploited his workers by inhumanely overworking them. The sixth one was my de-facto boss, Niijima Sae, a famous prosecutor, and older sister of one of your teammates. Your group got insanely popular up until Okumura. I…” – he cut himself off, a guilty expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?” – asked Ren, concerned.

“I… killed his shadow, and triggered a mental shutdown in Okumura, who died during his confession of his own crimes. You were used by a conspiracy that sought control over Tokyo, and after that, the entirety of Japan. Your popularity kept getting lower after that. I joined you for changing the heart Niijima Sae, but I betrayed you, and you got arrested. After that, I thought I killed you, and I made it look like a suicide. Of course, you didn’t die, and we met on Shido’s ship – where we all know what happened.” – finished Akechi.

“So, it seems like we travelled back in time… We can’t screw this up. Not this time. But you seem to know much more than me. Why? Why tell me all of this? For all I know, you could still be planning to kill me… At least I know you are not lying. Your story makes perfect sense, and it made me help remember things. I… I hope you can figure something out, Akechi. I don’t want to see you die again.” – said Ren, sadness apparent in his voice.

“I won’t, Ren. I promise.”

Ren was quite surprised to hear the boy call him by his name. Their gazes met, and they stared at each other.

_“When did Akechi become so cute…?”_

“I love you.” – they managed to blurt out in unison.

They stared at each other, wide-eyed, not really believing what they just said, and heard. Ren smiled at the fact that Akechi’s cheeks were adorned by a pinkish tone. He sat down next to Ren. He felt like he could get lost in Ren’s grey eyes… Their faces inched closer to each other. Ren could feel the faint aroma of an expensive perfume on Akechi… It suited him. Their lips met, and it just felt… right. Like they belonged together.

“I don’t want to ruin this moment, but I really should get back to Leblanc. Sojiro will get mad at me if I stay out late.” – said Ren after breaking off the kiss, almost apologetically.

“I understand… Take care, Ren.”

“You too, Goro. I hope you figure something out about Shido. Meanwhile, I’d like you to help us change Kamoshida’s heart. I remember you being terrifyingly strong.”

“I’ll consider it.”

“Great. I’ll let you know when we will actually decide to change his heart. We can’t just have you barge in with me though, we’ll have to make it look like an accident. I know you are quite good at planning those. Bye, Akechi!”

“Goodbye, Ren.”

 _“I feel a bond of trust between us.”_ – thought Ren.

\---

As Ren was walking back to Leblanc, he couldn’t help but feel hopeful. Things were definitely going to turn out better this time. They’d make sure of it.

“It’s time for the Phantom Thieves to shine again.” – whispered Ren, not noticing a black cat following him.

 _“The Phantom Thieves? Again? …I was right. Something is definitely off about him, it seemed like he is almost too good at wielding a Persona, as if Arséne was only holding him back. He got sent back in time. I have to help him.”_ \- thought Morgana in the shadows, watching Ren enter the café. He decided he’d longue around Yongen-Jaya and follow Ren around, that way he’d know if they ever wanted to get into the Metaverse again.

The familiar scent of coffee and curry greeted Ren as he stepped inside Café Leblanc, and he couldn’t help but welcome it. Sojiro’s culinary skills were truly out of this world.

“Oh, you’re home. You hungry?” – Sojiro’s question brought Ren back from his thoughts, and he just realized how hungry he was, not having eaten anything since lunch.

“Yeah, I feel like I could eat an entire horse.”

“Come on then, sit down. I’ll whip something up for ya. Meanwhile, care to explain why you were four hours late on your first day?” – asked Sojiro in an annoyed tone.

“I don’t mean any harm to you, but you should at least try to keep up the appearance of a diligent student. I like you, kid, I can’t help but feel like you are better than this.” – continued Sojiro, worry filling his voice.

“Yeah… I… I got lost at the Shibuya station. It’s like a goddamn maze in there.” – answered Ren, hoping Sojiro wouldn’t see through his half-assed lie.

“Hmm… even if that was the case, four hours are still an awful lot for getting lost. You don’t have to tell me where you were, but please, don’t get caught up in any shady business. I’m sure juvenile hall isn’t somewhere you’d want to be, Ren.” – finishing his pep talk, he put down an omelette and a cup of coffee in front of Ren.

“Can’t have you always eating curry, am I right?”

“I know. And I won’t, I promise. Thank you for the meal.” – said Ren meekly, appreciating the concern Sojiro had for him.

“Well, I’m going home now. I’m going to lock up, good night.” – said Sojiro.

“See you tomorrow, Sojiro-san.”

“I thought I already told you there’s no need for formalities.”

“Sorry…”

After wolfing down his dinner, he got up to his room, deep in thought, as it has become common occurrence in the past few days. This whole situation was so absurd, he didn’t even know where to start. Going to another world, to change people’s hearts? It sounded crazy, but he knew it was true. What he knew was that he needed a plan. A plan to bring Akechi into the Metaverse, and make it look like an accident. He also needed to find Morgana and convince the cat to help them change Kamoshida’s heart. He wouldn’t need much to convince Ryuji, the guy longed for action.

“I should probably go to sleep.” – he mumbled, changing into his pyjamas. Sleep soon overcame him.

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews would be much appreciated. Thank you for reading.


End file.
